The Emergence of Manual Coffeemaker Nº1

It's been years since the first prototype and months since the Kickstarter campaign and production trip, but here we are: the final details are dialed-in, samples were approved, and Manual Coffeemaker Nº1 was put into mass production!

The first run will be received in our Chicago warehouse in mid-November, and fulfillment will begin immediately after. Looking past any possible logistical snags, MCM will be shipped to all Kickstarter backers and pre-orders before Thanksgiving, and will be available for purchase immediately after, just in time for the holiday season.

While we wait for a large freight shipment, here's a peek at what Manual has been up to recently:

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with the educators at the Intelligentsia Coffee roasting works and HQ. Intelli is one of the biggest players in the specialty coffee industry, and the first place I had truly amazing coffee many years ago.

I was invited to their training lab where they very graciously spent 2 hours dialing in MCM by experimenting with various grind sizes, pour techniques, brew times, and coffee dose sizes. I gained some sharp new insights how to best brew with MCM, which we rolled forward into our user manual development.

We also recently dropped off a pre-production sample with our pals at Gaslight Coffee Roasters, who—if you recall—were the first coffee professionals to brew on my earliest prototypes last year. If you're in Chicago keep an eye out on Gaslight's coffee bar for a possible guest appearance in the near future.

We also sat down with the Gaslight and ordered 750 lbs of an amazing Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee that we selected from our cupping. Every Kickstarter backer will be receiving a bag of this coffee, and we hope to retail the rest right here immediately afterward—until we run out. Keep an eye out for limited availability.

We also dropped off another sample with our friends at The Wormhole—a top shelf coffee shop in the Wicker park neighborhood of Chicago—that also happens to share roasting facilities with Gaslight. (And also happens to have an entire Delorean—with a Mr. Fusion—in their shop, but that's another story). Wormhole was a VIP Patron of this project, so we were more than thrilled to get a sample into their hands. They'll also be spending some time dialing-in the technique over the coming weeks, so if you're in Chicago, keep an eye on their coffee bar as well.

In preparation for the Manual zine we'll be releasing with Manual Coffeemaker Nº1, we ran our first Risograph printed experiments: MCM promo cards for Wormhole and Gaslight for any inquiries they might receive.

In addition to the excitement of Manual Coffeemaker Nº1, there's a lot of behind-the-scenes work happening at Manual that will all come to light in a little more than a month, and we're excited to share it all with you! Keep an eye out here, or on the trinity of Instagram - Twitter - Facebook.

As a closing note: the future retail price of Manual Coffeemaker Nº1 is shaping up to be $99 USD. This means the special pre-order price of $80 will be ending soon. If you (or anyone you know) have been considering MCM, now's the time to pre-order and save 20%—your credit card will not be charged until the product ships.